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Whose Children Are They?

Part of the series What is Being Communicated?
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2013-09-23.

Sometimes a slogan is so good we dare not question it. But does it actually advance what we think it says?

Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the blogger which, although based on personal experience and knowledge of the scriptures, can be in error. No one has a corner on the truth but we should all sincerely be in search of it.

While on a walk, my wife and I spotted a school sign that got our attention. All it said was “Our Children”. At first brush, this wouldn’t cause much concern for most people as it appears like a collective concern for the educational plight of children in general. However, the LED sign on the school wall provided us with a bit clearer picture. It read “Our Children, Our Future”. Once again, without really thinking about this statement, it has the appearance of nobility, of being concerned for the future, until, that is , we start asking a few questions. If the sign had said “Children: Their Future, Our Future”, it would communicate to me that if we took care of the children, they will take care of us, but that is not what I got from “Our Children, Our Future”. I saw this more as a directive that communicated that if we want to shape the future, we had better shape our children. There is definitely truth to this, but the result will depend on what our presupposition about the future is. Define the future and you have an idea of who these children are and what we have to do to get them to it. If our desire is to have a nation where God is upheld in the highest authority and followed in obedience, we would be directing our children differently than if we wanted a nation where man is central, the determiner of values and maker of rules. For a Godly future, would we not teach them values and precepts as outlined in the Bible? If preparing them for service or conformity to a Godless society, would we use the same resources? Different objectives founded on different values depend entirely on our presuppositions. Believing in God, the authority of His Word and His purpose in creation, or not, will most certainly direct those teaching the children to instill in them different knowledge and values. “Our Children, Our Future” should beg us to question what future “our” children are being prepared for in that school. Our children indeed are our future and we do have a choice on how to prepare them for it. However, we would be wise if we prepared them for one that ultimately extends beyond this life. This future is far too important to entrust to perfect strangers in an institution that may not have the same ideas of what the future should look like or what the children need to learn to get there.